The principle of "unity as one, prioritizing Konoha's interests" forced Danzo Shimura to accept the collective decision and command, whether he liked it or not. From now on, he had to lead a portion of his subordinates to the eastern part of the Land of Fire.
In reality, at this moment there was no explicit hierarchy among these four individuals. However, when three of them reached consensus, the remaining one had to comply with this decision—being among the four highest-ranking figures in Konoha (excluding the Hokage), their "majority opinion" now represented the interests of Konoha itself. Opposing that view was the same as going against Konoha's collective will.
Haseo had been quietly living his own life, staying out of village affairs, so theoretically speaking, he wasn't qualified to coordinate the big picture. However… he was the one who had just turned the course of the war and returned victorious.
This was wartime, and during wartime achievements meant everything. Therefore, Haseo ironically became the most independent and formidable ninja within Konoha.
In times like this, the "opposition faction" could be regarded as the "hostile faction," and being hostile essentially equated to being marked for elimination… harsh though it may seem, sometimes things needed to be cut decisively like this.
Over the years, the changes in Danzo Shimura and the various selfish motivations behind his actions were clear to anyone who paid even slight attention. The two Elders certainly wouldn't support him becoming Hokage.
Leaving aside other considerations, was someone who always hid underground and constantly pulled secret strings really suitable to become Hokage? Would people truly support him becoming Hokage?
Granted, for shinobi specifically, perhaps talking about "honor and righteousness" seemed somewhat hypocritical—but undeniably, at least the Hokage should be recognized by the entire village as the most honorable shinobi.
To Haseo, the Hokage was nothing more than a Village Headman. But to regular shinobi, the Hokage stood as the ultimate symbol of honor and strength among ninja in the Land of Fire—a title worthy of pride and reverence.
The Third Hokage had just sacrificed himself at the Front Line. Discussing succession so soon after his death would come across as callous. More importantly, right now they must ensure that absolutely no problems emerged from Konoha itself… the Hokage's death would inevitably cause unrest. What Haseo and the Elders needed to do was to minimize this instability.
That was also why Danzo Shimura needed to leave. Staying in Konoha wouldn't make him a stabilizing force for the village; instead, he'd be the source of further chaos.
Factually speaking, power in Konoha was now already under the control of Haseo and the two Elders.
Moreover, Haseo could easily gain the trust and support of the Fire Daimyo.
There was no way to cover up the death of the Hokage—it would definitely spread eventually. At this point, the first problem facing the upper echelon of Konoha was how to calm public sentiment.
Under such circumstances, there seemingly was only one clumsy solution available—to visit one by one, either through private meetings or personal visits, all the Minor Factions within Konoha. As long as those Minor Factions remained stable, the entire village could remain stable too.
So after finalizing the future strategy, Lord Haseo started strolling around the village together with his "capable subordinates"... Don't even mention the Uzumaki clan—they were Haseo's fundamental base of support and would offer one hundred percent backing without hesitation.
"Lord Haseo, Danzo Shimura has already assembled a team and is leaving Konoha for the Eastern Front of the Land of Fire."
"Lord Haseo, Konoha has dispatched official mourners to the Daimyo's Castle and will recall Kohei Sarutobi back to the village at the earliest opportunity."
"Lord Haseo, from the Western Front we received news that we'll adopt an even more defensive posture going forward and won't easily respond to provocations from Sunagakure."
"Lord Haseo, our forces on the Northern Front are still retreating—disarrayed but somewhat orderly. We've already withdrawn to the border of the Land of Fire… Kumo is advancing aggressively while Iwagakure remains inactive."
Haseo was now heading toward the Hyūga Clan's territory together with Uzumaki Shikou. Yet even during this short walk, a steady stream of Anbu ninja and Uzumaki shinobi kept coming to report real-time updates on what was happening.
This meant that Haseo couldn't take a few steps without having to stop again.
"Guys, why is everything now being reported to me in such detail? This is kind of annoying," muttered Haseo. Obviously, saying this might sound like complaining to someone—after all, not everyone gets to deal with problems like these. "Wait a second, Shikou, what's that you're holding?"
While complaining, Haseo suddenly noticed Uzumaki Shikou was especially solemnly hugging an oversized folder in her arms.
"Lord Haseo, these are the names and documents of the Anbu ninja… originals."
Of course they were originals. With such high confidentiality levels, how could there possibly be copies?
Haseo abruptly halted in his tracks, silent and looking up at the sky.
After a brief pause, he resumed walking. "Where did you get this list?"
"The two Elders gave it to me."
"Why collect them?"
"Why not?" Uzumaki Shikou replied with a look of feigned confusion.
Yel... Yellow robes bestowed from above?
You've got to be kidding me! After all that effort, he only became a Village Headman—who was this really significant for?!
Considering the high risks involved with being a ninja, Konoha naturally had contingency plans in place for situations when the Hokage might die unexpectedly. The meaning represented by these Anbu documents was self-evident.
"Shikou, do you know why I previously led Konoha's ninja so publicly into conquering Kirigakure? This wasn't really my usual style—at all."
"Why was that, Lord Haseo?"
"Because back then, I was thinking that once this mission was completed, I'd retire from Konoha. So whether I made a big fuss about it didn't matter much. Leaving behind some Jianghu-style legend before departure actually sounded pretty cool. Hey, if you're gonna have some fun, might as well go all in."
The reason Haseo acted as he did during the invasion of Kirigakure definitely wasn't just because it sounded entertaining—he had truly believed his actions no longer held significance... He really had planned on retiring. The Kirigakure campaign was supposed to be the second-to-last battle he ever fought, and also the last war he'd ever wage for Konoha.
Even someone as powerful as the First Hokage could only address the problems caused by war, not eliminate war itself as a phenomenon and concept. Peace gave way to war, and war to peace again—that was how history always turned. Haseo didn't believe he was capable of resisting such a historical cycle, nor did he have the desire to.
No matter how many wars you won, new ones would arise later. In a sense, such efforts were ultimately futile. That's why Haseo finally came to realize it was time for him to withdraw from the stage.
"Such thoughts are very much in line with Lord Haseo's character," said Uzumaki Shikou. "But fate has brought us to this point—your achievements so far have already pushed you toward an even higher position. At the same time, your reputation is also restraining Konoha... To surpass Lord Haseo, one must accomplish deeds greater than his.
Otherwise, one cannot earn the people's recognition.
But... there's simply no ninja in Konoha who fits that description."
Uzumaki Shikou spoke these words sincerely. She believed what Haseo had just said was truthful, after all, he was always rather laid-back and never lied to her.
This current situation was like if "Tianxia Diyi" insisted on calling himself merely "Tianxia Dier"—then there would be no "Tianxia Diyi" left in the world at all.
"We'll see," Haseo shook his head, feeling nothing but a headache now. "Let's stabilize Konoha first, and deal with the most urgent issue of war before anything else."
The phrase "Yuanyuan Jihui" was well used—it really was a twist of fate.
The Third was indeed the Third. Even in death, he had to cause Haseo a bit of trouble.
So...
"Why did he have to die?"
Haseo lowered his gaze. Only now did he finally reveal his true emotions.
Sometimes, even through his irritation, he still hoped Hiruzen would live... At the very least, he shouldn't have gone so abruptly.
From sixteen to forty years old—the era of Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, had come to an end in Konoha.
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